The Order of St CharbelWilliam Kamm has a 10pm curfew, and is not allowed to spend time with girls under the age of 17. He is prevented from entering the Shoalhaven district of New South Wales, and his movements and communications are monitored. These are conditions of his release after serving 9 years in jail for crimes he committed against two teenage girls – yet his followers still believe that he is the next true Pope, and that the Virgin Mary speaks to him on the 13th day of every month.
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CW: references to manipulative behaviours, and sexual assault of minors. A small amount of coarse language. Please consider whether you would like to listen on this basis. Content is not suitable for children.
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The opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the makers of Let's Talk About Sects.
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Research sources listed on each episode page at www.ltaspod.com.
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If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com).
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Special Guest: Claire Ashman.
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KoreshanityThe Koreshans believed that the earth was hollow, and that humans lived on the concave inside surface of it. They theorised that the moon and stars, and indeed the rest of the universe, was contained within. On the outside? A void. When they formed the utopian community in Estero, Florida that they called the Koreshan Unity Settlement, a common greeting of one member to another was, “We live inside.”
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Research sources listed on each episode page at www.ltaspod.com.
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If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com).
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Universal KnowledgeCarli McConkey was a 21-year-old university graduate when she decided to attend the Mind Body Spirit Festival in Sydney, and came across the stand for Life Integration Programmes. The course they offered sounded like exactly what she needed to get her life on track and realise her potential. Little did she know that this encounter was the start of a 13-year ordeal that would see her estranged from her family, under continued financial stress, a victim and perpetrator of physical assault, working untold hours of unpaid labour, and eventually, medically sterilised.
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CW: references to manipulative behaviours, and physical abuse, including of minors. A small amount of coarse language. Please consider whether you would like to listen on this basis. Content is not suitable for children.
<br>
The opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the makers of Let's Talk About Sects.
<br>
<br>
Research sources listed on each episode page at www.ltaspod.com.
<br>
If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com).
<br> Special Guest: Carli McConkey.
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Kenja CommunicationKen Dyers passed away 10 years ago this year, but the organisation that he spearheaded with his partner Jan Hamilton lives on. In spite of a few parallels, this Australian organisation, called Kenja, has been listed as a suppressive group by the Church of Scientology.
Jan claims that Kenja has faced decades of persecution by those who want to bring them down, including a member of parliament, and charges levied at the organisation include brainwashing, exacerbation of psychological illnesses with dire consequences, alienation from family and friends, and sexual abuse.
CW: references to manipulative behaviours, sexual assault including of minors, and suicide. Please consider whether you would like to listen on this basis. Content is not suitable for children.
<br>
<br>
Research sources listed on each episode page at www.ltaspod.com.
<br>
If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (via freedomofmind.com).
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If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at www.iasp.info.
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Aum ShinrikyoTwenty years ago this year, Japan was to become a nuclear wasteland, according to the leader of a sect who claimed that the only survivors would be his followers and 10% of the major cities. It was in the lead up to this year of the predicted apocalypse, 1997, that he ordered shocking acts that would eventually result in his group being labelled a terrorist organisation, and himself and 12 other sect members being sentenced to death.
CW: references to physical and emotional abuse, controlling behaviours, references to suicide, murder, and psychological trauma associated with being in a cult. Please consider whether you would like to listen on this basis. Content is not suitable for children.
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<br>
Research sources listed on each episode page at <a href="http://www.ltaspod.com">www.ltaspod.com</a>.
<br>
If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via <a href="http://www.cifs.org.au">www.cifs.org.au</a>), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via <a href="http://www.icsahome.com">www.icsahome.com</a>) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (via <a href="http://freedomofmind.com">freedomofmind.com</a>).
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If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at www.iasp.info.
Listen:

The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of GodUgandan cult The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God was one of the deadliest in world history, with the number of people who died similar to the infamous Jonestown massacre, and some say even more.
The mastermind behind this cult? A woman named Credonia Mwerinde, who said she was receiving messages directly from the Virgin Mary.
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CW: references to physical and emotional abuse, controlling behaviours, and murder. Please consider whether you would like to listen on this basis. Content is not suitable for children.
<br>
Research sources listed on each episode page at <a href="http://www.ltaspod.com">www.ltaspod.com</a>.
<br>
If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via <a href="http://www.cifs.org.au">www.cifs.org.au</a>), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via <a href="http://www.icsahome.com">www.icsahome.com</a>) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (via <a href="http://freedomofmind.com">freedomofmind.com</a>).
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If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at <a href="http://www.iasp.info">www.iasp.info</a>.
Listen:

The FamilyThere is a 95-year-old woman in a Melbourne nursing home who dotes on a plastic baby doll. You wouldn’t guess it to look at her, but this is a woman who amassed a multi-million dollar fortune, destroyed families, and affected the lives of numerous people giving them ongoing psychological issues, some of which ended in suicide.
Former police detective Lex de Man said of this women to 60 Minutes, “Of all the crimes that I investigated, she is the most evil person that I’ve ever met.”
CW: references to physical and emotional abuse, controlling behaviours, death by suicide, forced adoption, and psychological trauma associated with being in a cult. Please consider whether you would like to listen on this basis. Content is not suitable for children.
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Special thanks to Ben Shenton for his thoughtful contributions to this episode.
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Research sources listed on each episode page at <a href="http://www.ltaspod.com">www.ltaspod.com</a>.
<br>
If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via <a href="http://www.cifs.org.au">www.cifs.org.au</a>), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via <a href="http://www.icsahome.com">www.icsahome.com</a>) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (via <a href="http://freedomofmind.com">freedomofmind.com</a>).
<br>
If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at <a href="http://www.iasp.info">www.iasp.info</a>.
Listen:

Let's Talk About Sects TrailerLet's Talk About Sects is a new Australian podcast about cults around the world. We cover a different sect each episode, launching on Wednesday 20th September and then releasing an episode each month. Hope you can join us.
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